Brazil papal contender: Birthplace irrelevant

By The Associated Press
| 3:05 p.m.Feb. 13, 2013

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Sao Paulo's archbishop, speaks as he gives a Mass at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
— AP

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Sao Paulo's archbishop, speaks as he gives a Mass at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
/ AP

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, the archbishop of Sao Paulo, speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)— AP

+Read Caption

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, the archbishop of Sao Paulo, speaks during a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
/ AP

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo, pauses during a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)— AP

+Read Caption

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo, pauses during a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
/ AP

A woman holds out her arms during a Mass by Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo, at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)— AP

+Read Caption

A woman holds out her arms during a Mass by Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo, at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
/ AP

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Sao Paulo's archbishop and papal candidate, greets a woman prior to giving a Mass at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)— AP

+Read Caption

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, Sao Paulo's archbishop and papal candidate, greets a woman prior to giving a Mass at the Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Latin America is home to the world's largest Roman Catholic population, but hopes that the next pope will come from the region appear faint, experts said Monday. Brazilian Cardinals Joao Braz de Aviz, a 65-year-old who has earned praise as head of the Vatican's office for religious congregations, and Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, have been mentioned as possibilities. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
/ AP

SAO PAULO 
A leading Latin American candidate to replace Pope Benedict XVI says neither birthplace nor age will play a role in determining who will be the next pontiff.

Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer is the 63-year-old leader of the Sao Paulo Archdiocese, one of the world's biggest.

He's been talked about as a dark horse contender to break Europe's hold on the papacy.

But Scherer says Wednesday that geography or even age will not play a role in determining the next pope.

He says he and the more than 100 other Cardinals who will meet at the Vatican next month to decide who will be the pope will make the decision based on who is best prepared to lead the Church at this moment, regardless of birthplace.